Thursday, March 23, 2017

Twamp loses the health(don't)care bill fight; new CBO score

Turns out Twamp isn't much a deal maker after all. He's
been pressuring those Republicans against it for days to no avail. Even
after Twamp promised the inappropriately named Freedom Caucus (aka freedom from healthcare) he'd
abide by one of their conditions to eliminate essential health benefits--
meaning eliminating coverage for pre-existing conditions as well as no
longer allowing children to remain on their parents' policy until age
26--Twamp still couldn't seal the deal. So sad. Biggest Loser.

The Republicans were in a big hurry to get this revision passed before the CBO scored it, but they had to postpone the vote scheduled for today due to not having the votes to pass it in the House. Now let's see what bullshit they spin now that the CBO has scored it today. 24 million more people currently on Obamacare will still be uninsured in 2026. Premiums would still rise 10-15% until 2019, then become 10% lower by 2026 after it drives out people in droves from the program. The original bill was projected to reduce the deficit by $337 billion, this version by only $151 billion due primarily from reduced tax revenue. The score was based on the changes proposed Monday. It is likely several more changes have been made since then to woo those recalcitrant Republicans that still refuse to vote for it.